DETROIT (Michigan News Source) – Detroit Public Schools Community District have a problem. It’s getting people to show up to class – both students and teachers.

According to the district, 60% of its students are labeled as “chronically absent.” That means they miss at least 18 days of school a year. That’s down from 66% in 2023-24. The district released data recently that showed 40% of its teachers were not in the classroom 11 days or more in 2024-25.

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The Detroit Free Press recently published an opinion piece by Wayne State University professors Jeremy Singer and Sarah Lenhoff that addressed the student absences.

And like most academic solutions, the op-ed called for “investing more resources.” Singer and Lenhoff also made veiled claims about racism saying they saw chronic absenteeism as due to “unequal conditions that shape students’ lives” and wrote “this is related to the depth of social and economic inequalities that Detroit families face.”

The two professors cited a report that said racial segregation and even weather and asthma attributed to students missing school.

The district has spent millions of dollars trying to solve the problem.

The district has also implemented “health hubs” that provide free basic health care, mental health care, dental care and vision screenings for district students and families. It also included washers and dryers for students to use in school facilities in hope it will draw them to school. The district also announced a program this year where it pays students with $200 gift cards if they have two weeks of perfect attendance.